N421 Conflict Management Written Assignment

Your textbook indicates that conflict is a natural, inevitable condition in organizations (Sullivan, 2017, p. 199). As a nursing leader, you will undoubtedly have many opportunities to develop your skills in conflict management.

Directions:

Compare and contrast the roles and actions of leadership and management in the handling of conflict. How do these two concepts relate to each other? How are they alike and how do they differ? How can conflict be beneficial and how can it be destructive? Discuss how nursing leaders can manage conflict in a nursing setting.

This is not a venue for your personal opinion. Support your assertions with evidence from recent, scholarly, peer-reviewed journals (preferably nursing journals). (“Recent” is less than five years old.) While your textbook is an excellent source of information it is not a journal. Follow this link for more information: What Is A Peer-Reviewed Article?

This assignment should be submitted in a Word document in APA format including title page, citations in text, and the reference page. Do not exceed 3 pages excluding the cover page and reference list. You may only submit one file and no late submissions will be accepted. Your submission will be evaluated using the rubric posted on Moodle.

 The following program policy applies Written Assignments and Final Project:

1. Are to be submitted by the due date and time.
2. Students failing to meet the deadline will receive an automatic 50% reduction on their paper prior to actual grading. If the student fails to submit within the next 24 hours, a grade of “0” will be assigned.
3. It is the student’s responsibility to recognize their failure to submit and notify the instructor or teaching assistant within the 24 hour time frame. Contact should be made via email with the late assignment attached. (This is not for routine use. It is only for late assignments.) 

SOLUTION

Wherever there are people working together, conflicts will always be inevitable. It is upon the relevant stakeholders to find ways of solving these conflicts (Amestoy et al., 2015). The paper aims at assessing the similarities and differences that exist between leadership and management with regards to the handling of the conflict. It will also explore how despite being destructive, conflict can also be beneficial. There will also be a discussion on how nursing leaders can manage conflict in their workplace setting.

Similarities

There are similarities with regards to the role and actions that leadership and management exercise while handling conflict. The major role that both have in common is recognizing the existence of conflict within the organization. The major cause of conflict is usually a lack of effective communication between the parties involved (Lahana et al., 2017). It is upon the individuals in leadership and management to [cmppp_restricted] take note when this occurs. Recognizing the misunderstanding between individuals or groups requires them to be active observers and listeners. It is not possible to solve a conflict when it has not yet been recognized (Lahana et al., 2017). Similarities in their actions are viewed in the way they act as peacemakers during the conflict resolution process. Through this, both try to moderate the resolution process to ensure that the situation does not get out of hand. They confront the tension at hand, set boundaries and ensure the timing is appropriate.

Differences

Despite the similarities that exist between leadership and management in the handling of the conflict, there are also some inherent differences. Leadership normally tends to play the role of facilitation when it comes to conflict resolution. A leader will strive to create an environment that will enable the conflicting parties to solve their problems (Lahana et al., 2017). Management, on the other hand, plays the role of controlling. Here, the managers control how the resolution process comes along. When it comes to actions in the handling of the conflict,  a leader will tend to ask questions directed towards the conflicting parties to help understand the extent of the issue and how best to solve it. A manager on the hand will result in giving direction to these parties on what to do in light of the existing issues. The style used in leadership while handling the issue will be motivational in nature while that used in management will be authoritative, as a result. Another thing is that leadership strives to show the conflicting parties what to do while the management will tell them what to do. This is because leaders desire to develop power with people while managers desire to exercise power over people (Lahana et al., 2017).

Pros

Both the leadership and management approaches to handling conflict have some advantages. With the leadership approaches shown above, it becomes possible to solve the conflict once and for all. This is because the conflicting parties are now able to understand the cause of the issue, and will work to ensure that it does not arise in the future (Amestoy et al., 2015). The management approach on its part can make it possible to solve the conflict quickly. This is because the manager is giving directives on what ought to be done.

Cons

Despite the management approach being able to solve the conflict quickly, the results might not be long-term. The conflicting parties might just agree to halt their issues due to the directives but find themselves in a similar situation in future since it was not solved but just buried (Amestoy et al., 2015). The leadership approach on its part might take too long to work or even deteriorate the situation if not handled appropriately since the conflicting parties are accorded more room to figure out some things on their own.

Constructive and Destructive Conflict

Conflict can be either beneficial or destructive when it arises. Conflict can be beneficial when it results in the adoption of differing worldviews and ideas with the objective of moving the organization forward towards achieving the desired mission and goals. Beneficial conflicts have the ability to balance the interests of the parties involved to help maximize the opportunities for mutual gains (Shah, 2017). On the other hand, conflict can be destructive when it is hindering work performance since the parties cannot engage in a civilized manner. This is where the conflicting parties tend to forget the material issues and focus on getting even or retaliating.

Nursing Leaders Managing Conflict

Nursing leaders can manage conflict by using the collaboration approach. This is a problem-solving approach that seeks to identify the concerns that both parties might have to enable come up with a suitable solution. Individuals are given the opportunity to show their point of view, and this makes them feel positive since the leader is demonstrating concern towards their issues. The moment employees perceive their importance, the ability to control a stressful situation is enhanced, and this helps to decrease the negative impact of conflicts. Shah (2017) asserts that involving employees is resolving issues enhances team spirit , and this results in better solutions, cost-effectiveness,  and job satisfaction.

In conclusion, conflict in the workplace is inevitable given the imminent interaction of people with varying attitudes and beliefs. Leadership and management undertake roles and actions that are similar while others tend to be  different when handling conflict. Both of this tend to have advantages and disadvantages based on their implications. Despite conflict appearing to be destructive, there are times when it is beneficial based on the outcomes that are derived.

References

Amestoy, S., Backes, V., Thofehrn, M., Martini, J., Meirelles, B., & Trindade, L. (2015). Conflict             management: challenges experienced by nurse-leaders in the hospital environment. Revista            Gaúcha De Enfermagem, 35(2), 79-85. doi: 10.1590/1983-1447.2014.02.40155

Lahana, E., Tsaras, K., Kalaitzidou, A., Galanis, P., Kaitelidou, D., & Sarafis, P. (2017). Conflicts management in public sector nursing. International Journal Of Healthcare Management, 12(1), 33-39. doi: 10.1080/20479700.2017.1353787

Shah, M. (2017). Impact of Interpersonal Conflict in Health Care Setting on Patient Care; the Role of Nursing Leadership Style on Resolving the Conflict. Nursing & Care Open Access Journal, 2(2). doi: 10.15406/ncoaj.2017.02.00031 [/cmppp_restricted]